Effect of rotary swaging and subsequent annealing on microstructure and mechanical properties of W-1.5ZrO2 alloys

Abstract W-1.5ZrO2 alloy bars with two diameters, named as D9 and D5, were prepared by liquid phase method and rotary swaging method. The effects of swaging and annealing on the microstructure and mechanical properties of tungsten alloys were investigated. Under the same swaging ratio, the compressive strength of D5 tungsten alloy and D9 tungsten alloy is 23.27% and 22.37% higty her than that of pure W, respectively. After multi-pass swaging, the diameter of tungsten alloy decreased from 9 mm to 5 mm, and the hardness and compressive strength increased by 14.6% and 21.93%, respectively. After multi-pass rotary swaging, the diameter of tungsten alloy is reduced from 9 mm to 5 mm, and the hardness and compressive strength are increased by 14.6% and 21.93% respectively. The fracture mode has gradually changed from intergranular fracture to trans-granular fracture. Therefore, the strength of tungsten alloy can be improved by adding zirconia and proper swaging process. With the increase of annealing temperature or time, recrystallization and grain growth will be caused. The addition of ZrO2 can delay the recrystallization of tungsten alloy during annealing, and inhibit grain growth. When the annealing temperature is lower than 1200 °C, the compressive strength of tungsten alloy remains unchanged, while the failure strain increases. After annealing at 1500 °C, the strength and failure strain of tungsten alloy decreased by 18.9% and 35.7% respectively. In order to obtain excellent strength and toughness, annealing at 1100–1200 °C for 1 h can be chosen for W-1.5ZrO2 alloy.